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Our recent collection day raised the staggering figure of £584.07p. Sincere thanks to everyone who made a donation. We also thank Cllr Keith Manns, our County Councillor, for his grant of £660 to pay for two new Pulse Oximeter units.
At our ollection day we were asked many questions, often by visitors to our area who were unfamiliar with CFR's and what we do.
As a result we thought it might be useful to list just a few of the most often asked questions, to dispell any misconceptions about Community First Responders (CFR's) held by people who live in, or visit, Bransgore and our surrounding areand even some ambulance staff.
Q1. How much does a CFR get paid?
CFR's are volunteers and are unpaid. In Bransgore our team do not even claim the small mileage allowance (pence per mile) offered to help with wear and tear on their private car when attending calls, meetings and training.
Please do not confuse CFR's with other organisations providing the same or similar service under various paid business arrangements with the ambulance service. We like to think we are as good, if not better, as the motivation of our volunteers comes from within.
Q2. So why do you do it?
Well, as stated above, it's not for any financial gain. Our volunteers do it as they find it very rewarding to be able to help someone in our community, at a time when they are facing a potentially serious medical emergency, and possibly use our equipment to help save a life, all in the time while the ambulance is still on way. They care about others and want to do their bit, putting back into the community some time and effort to make sure our area is a better place to live.
Q3 So the ambulance service provide all your equipment then?
No. Although our equipment is purchased through our ambulance service charity, everything has to be paid for from money raised within our resident and business community, or from grants that we make a bid for. When we purchase additional equipment or replace older items we have to have the funds in place which is why we are always fund raising. For example a new defibrillator costs about £1100 and we have a number available for our team as you would expect. Unlike other organisations, we receive no NHS or other Government funding.
Q4. Why should I donate when I already pay for the ambulance service through my taxes?
It is true that your taxes pay for the statutory ambulance service. However what we do is not a part of that "statutory" service. What we do is over and above what you pay for, and is aimed at getting someone to you very quickly when appropriate - when minutes can mean the difference between life and death. The ambulance service do a fantastic job but reaching patients in 8 minutes when required, can be extremely challenging in our rural areas or at time of peak demand. We are part of the ambulance service charity that runs all the CFR groups in Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, and our funds are managed for us by the Charity under Charity Commission legislation.
Q5 Are you part of the NHS then?
No we are a part of South Central Ambulance Charity. But we are assigned to calls by the ambulance service control room and our shceme cars and our uniforms displays the NHS logo to show that we are acting in support of the NHS ambulance service.
Q6 How do we call you out?
You cannot call us directly. The ambulance service will ask us to attend any 999 emergency call that they think it is appropriate for us to assist with. There are certain calls that are not suitable for our volunteers to attend, willing and able though they may be. Any numbers that you see for our Group are purely for general queries and messages. If you need medical help and its not life threating please call 111 or 999 in case of real emergency. The best and most appropriate medical response will be provided to you.